Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 537 , Thursday 17/04/2025

Thursday started at crack of sparrows fart, somewhere in the region of 5:50am this seemed far too early so I rolled over & ended up getting up just after 7am.

Breakfast & chores were followed by a nice walk out towards the ‘Last homely house’ the nickname I’ve given the last house on the little lane that leads to the land around the peak of the hill with the trig point on top of it.
Didn’t manage to get all the way to the Last homely house but I did do 4.3km all told.

Had a hotdog with some scrambled eggs for lunch - possibly an unconventional combination but both needed using up.

Played Fallout 76 this afternoon, nearly finished the Brotherhood of Steel missions, once they are done I can try the Ghoul transformation & see if I like playing in that form (like the cowboy in the Fallout TV series).

Watched a couple episodes of Grantchester to finish the day.

Final Thoughts.

Had a chat on here this evening about light of all things & my literal mind came into play, the inability to see that there was another interpretation of its definition other than what I have learnt (from folk who know a thing or too about physics and astrophysics.)

Also not knowing when to disengage!

I’m not sure I made any new friends today.

Oh Nuggan’s holey nuts it’s Good Friday tomorrow, where did the beginning of the year go??

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 536 , Wednesday 16/04/2025

Wednesday started around 7am, breakfast was consumed & coffee accompanied a chapter in my book.

Went on another shopping trip, got some hopefully nice alternatives to the normal same old same old that Mrs S gets.

The weather has been drab n ‘orrible all day. I’m not saying that I’m solar powered but motivation has been used up very quickly.

Not much to report from this afternoon, reading & gaming mostly. I do feel that I am at best a spare part & at worst a carbuncle on the butt of humanity.

Final Thoughts.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the wrong person in the wrong location at the wrong time & am clueless about how to tackle any of that.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

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Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 535 , Tuesday 15/04/2025

Tuesday started about 6am but I really struggled to get going, finally getting down to breakfast around 07:30.

Mrs S was off to an Autism awareness thing, one might think this was because she wanted to understand her Norman husband better, not a bit of it, it got her out of going to a walk in clinic type thing that she hates to do.

I managed to get out for a walk after sending some time on here, a bit of a longer one today 4km or about 6000 steps.

I did my chores when I got home then had a hotdog for lunch by way of a treat.

Watched ‘The Blues Brothers’ this afternoon as I needed something to pick up my spirits.

Mrs S rocked up just before 6pm, we had tea & watched Tom Hanks’s ‘The Americas’

Final Thoughts.

Might be another shopping trip on the cards tomorrow - maybe some naughty treats.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

EDIT: changed the time I woke up, since I’m not a Time Lord

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 534 , Monday 14/04/2025

Monday started early just before 6am, I read for a while & then went down for breakfast.

Read my new book ‘Waterloo’ by Bernard Cornwell - with my morning coffee.

Had to go to the dentist for a small filling, it all went fine.

Finished my chores & then made us some lunch, Mrs S working from home today.

Played some Fallout 76 this afternoon, picking up an old character from 2021 that I want to try the new ghoul update on.
I need to get them up to scratch first, they have some missions to do with some folk who will object to the whole ‘being a ghoul’ thing.

Had a pleasant evening catching up on some TV.

Final Thoughts.

Not a bad day all told.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 533 , Sunday 13/04/2025

Sunday started around 07:30 with me getting up & making breakfast for me & Mrs S.

We watched an episode of ‘Father Brown’ then got ready to go out on a Costco run.

We got to Costco just as it opened, around 11am & there was already a big queue, happily my parking karma was being kind to me & I found a space almost immediately.

We managed to get everything that we wanted & I got some dried pear half’s (same company that make the dried melon slivers that I’ve had before. It has to be said that the melon is by far the superior treat!
I might chop the pears up & lob them in my porridge of a morning.

A very lazy afternoon after we got home & I have put away all the shopping.

We watched the movie ‘Electric State’ this evening which was ok.

Final Thoughts.

Been feeling tired & bläh for much of the day, one of those days when you start questioning the point of it all.

Hey ho day by day until the last day I guess.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Anxiety reduction course invite for Autistics and AuDHDers #actuallyautistic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9MZ2RaaZWY

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 532 , Saturday 12/04/2025

Up at around 7am, but struggled to get going so faintly got down to breakfast ½ an hour later.

Chores done & read a little before spending some time on here.

10:33 Oh Nuggan’s holey nuts! For some reason my brain is arguing strenuously against going outside again, even into the garden… I think it’s because there is a high risk that I might have to interact with the neighbours.
I know that the weather is going to turn tomorrow & that there is stuff to do but nope going thru either door into the outside world seems like fighting thru treacle!

So I mooched about the house for an hour then gave myself a sharp talking too & went into the garden for an hour, tided up the gravel that over spilled when the big clean was going on.

Also planted a few reeds that still seemed viable & re-strung the washing line.
Go team Squirrel!!

Mrs S got back around 1pm, why she thought we needed even more ready meals after I went out shopping mid week is beyond me!

But all the MH peeps I speak to reckon it’s my ND mind that is wrong & that I should just accept this kind of thing. *sigh*

I went wild & got the 4k remastered version of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ & we watched it this evening. They have made an excellent job of the remastering & I have to admit that I do love that movie!

Final Thoughts.

I’m kinda chuffed that I fought my lethargy & got out into the garden, even if only for an hour but it would be nice if It wasn’t such a struggle all the time.

Day by day until the last day I guess.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 531 , Friday 11/04/2025

Up at 06:15, went downstairs to spend some time with Mrs S, but she had already had her breakfast & was doing her ironing.
Then she vanished upstairs, the cats & her book more interesting than I.

I did my chores then went for a short walk, a slightly different route & discovered a hidden glade, within a stones throw of my usual route!
There were 2 carved birds - stylised crows I think, standing guard over the glade.

I read for a few hours, there was stuff in the garden to do but I really did not have the motivation to get out there.

Played some NMS to end the afternoon, tracked down a VERY popular Sentinel Interceptor ship judging from the fact that there were a stupid number of bases built in the vicinity - it does look gorgeous though & even without mods its fast!

Pizza for tea & a double helping of ‘Waking the dead’ to accompany it made for an enjoyable evening.

Final Thoughts.

Even in the sun it’s been somewhat of a bläh kind of a day, I’m not sure if it’s the events of the week catching up with me or what it is.

Hey ho, day by day until the last day I guess.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

(11 Apr) Autism Awareness Month: Different Is Not The Same As Diseased

Nobody blames a jet ski for being bad on the highway. #ActuallyAutistic #ActuallyAuDHD

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Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 530 , Thursday 10/04/2025

Thursday started just after 7am, with the sun blazing thru the blinds & the children next door testing their lungs again.

I got up & made breakfast, then went out for a walk after finishing my coffee.

Got back & managed to do my chores before my ADHD assessment at 10am.

The assessment went quite well, the consultant - Denzel (not that one!! ) was a likeable kind of chap & when we reached the end of the session he said that I am ADHD but that I am predominantly autistic with, as it were, a dusting of ADHD thrown in for good measure.
He said that there were clear ADHD traits but that they were not pronounced enough to require medication.

So there we have it - as the more observant amounts you will have noticed from the newly updated title, I am an AuDHD Squirrel, because I’m special!

I’m not sure that the diagnosis will do more than be an extra pointer to the kind of help I need to seek & the measures I need to focus on to enable me to navigate thru this NT world.
Denzel did say that I would benefit from coaching therapies & maybe some ADHD specific CBT.
I’ll wait for the written assessment before I start to look at ways to move forward.

This afternoon has been a deliberately quiet time - I played a little NMS, tweaking my ship to eek a little more speed out of it.

We had steak & ale pie with gravy, baby tatties & peas n carrots for tea - a very nice change from the usual fare! I suspect that will be the driver of future shopping trips!

Final Thoughts.

So just over a year after I officially knew I was autistic I now know I’m AuDHD, I wonder what I will know this time next year!

@TheBreadmonkey posted a link for an OU course on autism yesterday, I am in fact pathologically allergic to any form of exam but I also would like to know a bit more about me so it might be worth looking into.
Thanks for sharing that Ben!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 529 , Wednesday 09/04/2025

Wednesday started a little before 7am, overcast & not very promising weather wise.

Breakfast was had & chores done. Then I fought my demons and managed to get out shopping - not a major expedition, just to a very cheap supermarket a few miles away from the Squirrel Den.

I managed to get some different meals than Mrs S habitually gets & some naughty treats.

I read for a while & made some smoked salmon sandwiches for lunch. (the salmon was one of the things I picked up earlier.)

Spent the afternoon finishing the NMS ‘Relics’ expedition, finally catching the pesky ‘bone fish’ that eluded me yesterday.

We finished the evening with a couple of episodes of Poirot.

Final Thoughts.

Not a bad day, the weather wasn’t up to the same levels of sunshine we have seen recently but I’m happy I managed to get out to do a little shopping. I realise that this only a small thing to most people but that is the first time I have been that far from the house by myself for quite some time.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 528 , Tuesday 08/04/2025

Tuesday started fairly early just after 6am. I read for a little while then came down for breakfast.

Mrs S was back at the office so the house was peaceful after about 07:30.

It was a lovely day so I forced myself out for a short walk, just a couple of km around the playing fields. It’s a nice short walk & mostly deserted especially in a morning. The path goes by the side of a small local nature reserve too.

I did my chores when I got back & then had a bit of a ‘Peaky Blinders’ fest.

I’m really struggling not to snack at the moment, eating is a fairly major coping strategy for me but I wish it wasn’t.

Started to write a couple of poems but couldn’t concentrate, so will give that another go tomorrow.

Played an hour of NMS before Mrs S got home, trying to catch the silly fish that is one of the achievements.
25 fish later & I still haven’t caught the right one!

We had a mushroom plaster thing that Mrs S got last week for tea, it was nice enough I guess.

Oooh just had a dizzy spell, not had one of those for ages! Tinnitus is screaming too! Bläh!

Final Thoughts.

I want to go shopping tomorrow, I hope my demons will let me out the house!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 527 , Monday 07/04/2025

Monday dawned sunny & bright - we’re having quite warm days, low to mid teens, but clod over night with lows around 4 or 5 Celsius.
I really struggled to get into the swing of the day & finally got going about 07:15.

I made myself breakfast & did the washing up, Mrs S having gone out to the office.

Quite a busy morning, the weather station was showing an error for the outdoor sensors so I fetched it in gave it a good clean & changed the batteries. This seemed to help & everything is working again now.
I cleaned the coffee machine too & gave the bath a good clean - we barely use it but it’s one with jets & it still needs cleaning about every 6 weeks.

Had the last hotdog for lunch - a naughty treat, but I knew we would be having something mind buggeringly boring for tea so I thought “To hell with the calories!”

Watched a couple of episodes of ‘Peaky Blinders’ this afternoon, on season 5 of 6 so not too many episodes to go.

Also managed to do a couple more achievements in the NMS ‘Relics’ expedition. I have to go fishing to get one of the achievements - possibly the most frustrating thing Hello Games ever added to NMS!

Mrs S got home just before 6pm so I nuked us her fave hotpot & we finished watching ‘Shetland’ with a pint of cider to help it all along.

Final Thoughts.

I think I might try going shopping on Wednesday , I need some different food!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 526 , Sunday 06/04/2025

Sunday started just after 7am although it being a Sunday I read for a while & finally got up around 8am.

Made breakfast & washed up.

Mrs S vanished upstairs & so I had a chunk of the morning to myself. I read & lurked on here for a while.

Made lunch - chicken sandwiches, if we actually had anything more exciting in the larder then I would have gladly made something more interesting.

We had a relaxed afternoon catching up on Stranger Things & the new series of Silo.

Final Thoughts.

I have my ADHD assessment on the 10th - I’m really not sure how I feel about it. With the ASD assessment I kinda knew I was autistic & needed that final confirmation to silence the imposter syndrome whispers in my head. That I might be AuDHD never occurred to me but it did to the Consultant who did my ASD assessment. Just over a year later here we are.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 525 , Saturday 05/04/2025

Saturday started just after 7am when Mrs S got up.

Breakfast was made & chores were done.

Mrs S went shopping so I got a little time to myself to read my book in relative peace & quiet.

I finished off the left over calzone fro yesterday - while it is more expensive than a pizza it does do 2 meals.

We spent the afternoon catching up on Mrs S’s TV shows.

Mrs S wanted fried chicken for tea so I joined her, I really need to get walking again to lose this weight!!

Final Thoughts.

So there are a load of activities near us for Autism Awareness week - Mrs S as a social worker got an email listing all the activities which she forwarded to me.
Given that she has admitted not knowing much about autism I asked her which ones she was going to … “Oh none, I’m far too busy!”

Day by day until the last day.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 524 , Friday 04/04/2025

Friday started about 05:30 when something woke me up - couldn’t identify the noise so rolled over & went back to sleep.

Friday - 2nd attempt started just after 7am, with breakfast then reading & spending some time on here.

Went to hang the laundry out & had the same triggering problems with fighting thru the sheets that I’ve talked about before - it’s so silly, but I really struggle with it.

Finished hanging out the laundry & then had an extended session progressing with the NMS ‘Relics’ expedition.

Friday night is pizza night - or as an occasional treat calzone night.
A pint of cider & a couple of episodes of ‘Waking the dead’ all made for an enjoyable evening.

Final Thoughts.

The cats have been going bonkers today, I’m not sure where they’ve got the extra energy from!

It’s weird what triggers me, the whole thing with the sheets got me really frustrated!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 523 , Thursday 03/04/2025

Thursday started early, just after 6am, I thought that I would support my wife in looking after her mum - she had to take her to an appointment today - by making breakfast & generally being there - she ate breakfast then vanished as usual until 8:30am when she left the house.

I washed the dishes then did a few chores.
I went out around 11am for an hour finishing off the last bits & bobs on the gravel cleaning front.
I just need to tidy up the garden now then I can plant out the reed bed again.

Caught up on here this afternoon & spent a chunk of time being annoyed with a blind person who was failing to understand that his NT view of the world did not match the reality of the ND world that I & quite a few of the Peeps I share a TL with experience. Only goes to prove that everyone occasionally needs a reminder that they shouldn’t ’be a dick’.

For the avoidance of doubt, I personally do not knowingly use AI to generate content, however I see no harm in using content that has already been generated - it exists, the argument that me not using it in some way prevents it’s spread is not a valid argument as far as I am concerned. AI is not going away anytime soon, no matter how much we would wish it otherwise.
Also I feel that if other folk have life challenges that are made easier by using AI as a tool then that is perfectly reasonable.

Mrs S. got back just before 4pm, so we settled in to start watching ‘Stranger Things’ - yes I know that I’m decades behind!

Final Thoughts.

I’m pleased with what I managed in the garden today, there was a lot of work for not much visible result but things were achieved!

I’m also pleased that I managed to stick up for a friend without triggering myself too much - although I did get a bit cross at the end. Intolerance is such an ugly habit.

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 522 , Wednesday 02/04/2025

Wednesday started with a power cut just before 6am , not very long but long enough to throw out all the automation & my alarm.

I rolled over for another hours kip then got up & had breakfast & did a few daily chores.

I cleaned the filters on the vacuum cleaner & cleaned the dishwasher.

It’s been a lovely day so around 11am I went out & tackled the last of the gravel in the bulk bag. I’m pleased to report that I emptied the bag today so now all that is left is to brush up all the spilled gravel, clean that & then see if any of the original plants are in a state to re-plant.

Soup & a bread roll for a late lunch & then I watched an episode of ‘Peaky Blinders’ then played some NMS.

I’ve started the ‘Relics’ expedition & managed to recover my favourite ship & polish off a few achievements.

Final Thoughts.

I’m quite pleased with what I’ve achieved today, I hope that I can keep up my motivation levels!

I’m really pleased that I’ve cracked the gravel pit!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves

Diary of an ASD Squirrel. Day 521 , Tuesday 01/04/2025

Tuesday started just after 7am, I read for a while then went down for breakfast.

Mrs S was in the office today so peace reigned.

I did my chores & then headed out to gravel pit - spend about 2½ hours cleaning gravel, the reed bed is now full enough of gravel for the final part of the plumbing - a trough the width of the filter that balances water flow across the length of the filter - to be re-fitted.

Caught up with a couple of episodes of ‘Peaky Blinders’ this afternoon, & played some NMS - not started the new expedition yet as I want to take the new exocraft summoning tech with me - for that I need to build a spare & that involves doing one of the new missions that came with the last update.

Final Thoughts.

I’m pleased that I got out to do some more work on the filter today, the bulk bag is nearly light enough for me to lift so hopefully the gravel cleaning part of this exercise will be completed by Friday, all things being equal!

Dr rang me this lunchtime - asking why I had requested a call - I said that I hadn’t, I wonder if the Talk Therapies mob made the request? Eith

There’s a new game - ‘AtomFall’ that is a similar game to Fallout, but is based in Cumbria in the UK- I know the area quite well having spent a lot of summer holidays in that neck of the woods, I think I know what I want for my birthday!

Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you!

@actuallyautistic
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves